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National Hockey League
BOXSCORE | RECAP
Nashville 3, Detroit 2
When: 12:00 PM ET, Sunday, April 15, 2012
Where: Joe Louis Arena, Detroit, Michigan
Referees: Steve Kozari, Tim Peel
Linesmen: Jonny Murray, Brad Lazarowich
Attendance: 20066


PREDATORS 3, RED WINGS 2: Defenseman Shea Weber and Kevin Klein scored goals and netminder Pekka Rinne made them stand up with 41 saves as Nashville won its first-ever playoff game in Detroit.

Sergei Kostitsyn added a late goal and Rinne withstood a 19-shot, third-period onslaught to give the Predators a 2-1 lead in their Western Conference quarterfinal series.

Pavel Datsyuk and Henrik Zetterberg scored for the Red Wings, who had a potential tying goal disallowed when it failed to beat the buzzer by two-tenths of a second at the end of second period.

Nashville had been 0 for 6 for the postseason at Joe Louis Arena but grabbed the early lead on Weber's first-period power-play tally and never relinquished it against the league's best home team during the regular season.

Ahead 1-0 courtesy of Weber's goal at 2:48 of the opening period, Klein doubled the lead at the 3:50 mark of the middle session.

Taking a feed from Martin Erat, Klein blew by Brad Stuart and whipped a shot that beat Jimmy Howard high to the glove side at 3:50.

Datsyuk got the Red Wings back in the contest with a brilliant individual effort. With the teams playing 4-on-4, Datsyuk stole the puck from Roman Josi behind the net and tucket it past a surprised Rinne at the 15-minute mark.

The biggest moment came as time expired in the second period, when Johan Franzen's apparent tying goal crossed the line just after the clock hit 0:00.

Detroit pressed for the equalizer in the third period, outshooting Nashville 12-0 in the first nine minutes, but Kostitsyn made it 3-1 by snapping a wrister past Howard with 3:30 to play.

That allowed Nashville to survive Zetterberg's tally with 51.9 seconds to play and take a 2-1 lead into Tuesday's Game 4 in Detroit.

GAME NOTEBOOK: Detroit was the league's best home team with a 31-7-3 record and NHL-record 23-game winning streak, but one of the losses came to the Predators on March 30. ... Weber's early power-play goal snapped Detroit's string of killing 12 consecutive penalties in the series. ... Kostitsyn ended an 11-game drought without a point. Predators D Hal Gill sat out his third consecutive game with a lower-body injury suffered when he blocked a shot against Dallas on April 5. ... All three games in the series have ended with a 3-2 score.

Top Game Performances
 
Nashville   Detroit
Kevin Klein 2 Points Pavel Datsyuk 2
Kevin Klein 1 Goals Pavel Datsyuk 1
Kevin Klein 1 Assists Pavel Datsyuk 1
Shea Weber 1 Power Play Goals Henrik Zetterberg 1
N/A Short Handed Goals N/A
Pekka Rinne .953 Save Percentage Jimmy Howard .864
Pekka Rinne 41 Saves Jimmy Howard 19
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Shots Goals Power Play Penalty Kill Penalty Mins Face Offs Won
Nashville 22 3 1-4 3-4 12 32
Detroit 43 2 1-4 3-4 12 26
Upcoming Games
  • Detroit will play their next game at home against Nashville. The Red Wings have a W/L % of .694 after a win and .424 after a loss.
  • Nashville will play their next game on the road against Detroit. The Predators have a W/L % of .542 after a win and .647 after a loss.